Policy Updates

On May 14-15, 2024, the C7 summit was held at the UN FAO headquarters in Rome, Italy, organized by the Italian Civil Society Coalition that led, coordinated, and moderated the C7 2024 process.

Approximately 400 global representatives took part in the event, as well as international decision-makers, including FAO Director-General Qu Dongyu, Italian G7 sherpa Ambassador Elisabetta Belloni, Cardinal, President of the Italian Episcopal Conference, Pope’s envoy for the Russian-Ukrainian conflict Matteo Maria Zuppi, and Director of the UN SDG Action Campaign Marina Ponti.

The official C7 communiqué that listed the international civil society recommendation to the G7’s Leaders around seven key issues was released at the event, which included:

• Economic justice and transformation;
• Climate, energy transformation, and environmental justice;
• Global health;
• Principled humanitarian assistance;
• Peace, common security, and nuclear disarmament;
• Human mobility and migration; and
• Food justice and food systems transformation.

On May 8, 2024, German Development Minister Svenja Schulze met with Jordanian Planning Minister Zeina Toukan and Water Minister Raed Abu Soud to strengthen cooperation on sustainable water supply projects, including a large-scale seawater desalination plant to address Jordan's acute water crisis.

Germany's contributions included an additional EUR15 million (US$16 million), raising its total support to EUR80 million (US$87 million). Additionally, Germany will cancel EUR25 million (US$27 million) of Jordan's debt, provided these funds are reinvested in the water infrastructure project. The partnership is slated to construct one of the world's largest seawater desalination plants and promoting resource-efficient agricultural irrigation. Jordan faces severe water shortages exacerbated by climate change and an influx of refugees.

Germany will support the desalination project, which will deliver water from the Red Sea to northern Jordan and Amman, primarily using renewable energy. The initiative is set to provide clean drinking water to around four million people by 2028.

The partnership also emphasizes resource-efficient irrigation to support Jordan's agriculture sector, which employs many refugees. Germany pledged a EUR200 million (US$217 million) loan to expand wastewater treatment facilities and improve irrigation systems, along with a EUR22 million (US$23 million) grant to ensure high-quality wastewater treatment.

On November 10, 2023, the BMZ announced that it will allocate an additional EUR62 million (US$66 million) to Mauritania to support the costs of receiving and integrating refugees from Mali, following a bilateral agreement with Jordan tackling refugee costs on November 6, 2023.

Germany and Mauritania agreed on a set of measures to help receive and integrate refugees, including employment creation, professional training, and renewable energy. German Minister for Economic Cooperation and Development Svenja Schulze travelled to Nouakchott to strengthen cooperation with Mauritania. Following a wave of violence in neighboring Mali, Mauritania received more than 100,000 refugees and has made efforts to rapidly integrate refugees into its social security systems.

Previously, Schulze committed to supporting refugees in Jordan with a pledge of EUR41 million (US$44 million), in addition to a EUR125 million (US$134 million) loan for water security, which is critical in the region. Almost half of the population in Jordan has migratory ties. Schulze acknowledged Jordan's role as a mediator maintaining peace in the region.

The agreements were concluded against a backdrop of increasingly heated debates in Germany on migration and proposals for tighter asylum regulations. Schulze noted that development cooperation institutions are tasked with combating the root causes for migration.